Controlled Delivery of Gentamicin Using Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Microspheres

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Lydia Francis¹  Decheng Meng³  Jonathan Knowles²  Tajalli Keshavarz¹  Aldo R. Boccaccini³ 

[1] Department of Applied and Molecular Biosciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK; E-Mails:;Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, University College London 256 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, UK; E-Mail:;Department of Materials, Imperial College London Prince Consort Rd, London SW7 2AZ, UK; E-Mail:

关键词: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate);    microspheres;    controlled drug delivery;    gentamicin;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms12074294

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), P(3HB), produced from Bacillus cereus SPV using a simple glucose feeding strategy was used to fabricate P(3HB) microspheres using a solid-in-oil-water (s/o/w) technique. For this study, several parameters such as polymer concentration, surfactant and stirring rates were varied in order to determine their effect on microsphere characteristics. The average size of the microspheres was in the range of 2 μm to 1.54 μm with specific surface areas varying between 9.60 m²/g and 6.05 m²/g. Low stirring speed of 300 rpm produced slightly larger microspheres when compared to the smaller microspheres produced when the stirring velocity was increased to 800 rpm. The surface morphology of the microspheres after solvent evaporation appeared smooth when observed under SEM. Gentamicin was encapsulated within these P(3HB) microspheres and the release kinetics from the microspheres exhibiting the highest encapsulation efficiency, which was 48%, was investigated. The in vitro release of gentamicin was bimodal, an initial burst release was observed followed by a diffusion mediated sustained release. Biodegradable P(3HB) microspheres developed in this research has shown high potential to be used in various biomedical applications.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.